Powderly Meadows holds fundraisers for regional education foundation

Thursday

Apr 18, 2013 at 10:56 AM

LAKEVILLE — Tracy Owen is hoping that she can inspire other area businesses into helping to raise funds for the Freetown — Lakeville Education Foundation to fund grants for school programs and events. To date she has hosted three fundraising events at her family's business, Powderly Meadows, and plans to continue on a regular basis.

CINDY DOW

LAKEVILLE — Tracy Owen is hoping that she can inspire other area businesses into helping to raise funds for the Freetown — Lakeville Education Foundation to fund grants for school programs and events. To date she has hosted three fundraising events at her family's business, Powderly Meadows, and plans to continue on a regular basis.

"Everyone is always talking about the schools, and what can we do about the schools — I want to open the door to different possibilities, especially with all the talk of an override. This gets people in my doors, as well. It only helps out in the end," she said.

Ms. Owen reached out to Superintendent Jessica Huizenga in January to find out how she could help with a fundraiser. Dr. Huizenga connected her with the education foundation.

"I think if you benefit the schools, you benefit the town," said Ms. Owen. "My kids are in the schools, I went to the schools — I wanted to help."

Powderly Meadows offers doggie daycare, horse boarding, riding lessons, and trail riding. During the February school vacation, Powderly Meadows held a "Dog Days of February" event, putting 20 percent of all dog-revenue from clients who use the Freetown Lakeville schools into the foundation. During the annual open house in April, which launches their horse season, they offered five-minute pony walks for $5, with all proceeds donated to the foundation. This week's April school vacation horse camp also put 20 percent of proceed towards the foundation.

"I'm happy to do an open house every few months for them, but I'm trying to get other local businesses involved, too," said Ms. Owen. "People don't realize (the foundation) is out there. Businesses need to be creative and come up with some initiatives — they can only help."

The Freetown — Lakeville Education Foundation was established last fall by a group of parents frustrated by the frequent budget cuts they felt were affecting their children's' education. According to the freelakefoundation.org website, "The Foundation is a proactive way to fund projects that go over and above those normally supported by local, state and federal funding, and enhance learning experiences."

"These programs could include technology or materials that enhance the core curriculum, enrichment activities like workshops or exhibits, or extracurricular programs," said Karen Quinn, foundation secretary. "How it works is this: programs are outlined by teachers and submitted as a grant request during a grant cycle. The foundation's board of directors, comprised of parents and community members from both towns, is responsible for reviewing submitted grant proposals, and determining which grants it can fund in a given year."

To ensure that funds are available in years to come, 30 percent of all donations is allocated to grow the foundation's endowment fund, while 70 percent will be returned to the community through the programs and materials funded by the grants. The foundation is a fund of the Community Foundation of Southeastern Massachusetts, a 501 (c)3 organization that provides support and oversight to the foundation, making all donations to the foundation tax-deductible.

"Much of our initial support has been from families with children in our schools," said Ms. Quinn.

She noted that two parents have hosted home-sale parties and donated the proceeds from the events to the foundation. Bridgewater Savings Bank made an initial donation, and some businesses have matched donations made by their employees. The foundation joined the Assawompset PTO in the 100th birthday celebration of the elementary school last fall and raised donations as part of the Cupcake Wars event, and School Committee member David Davenport worked with members of the foundation's administrative team and other school committee members to organize the Iron Chef Competition fundraiser in the fall.

"Tracy at Powderly Meadows was very supportive of what we were doing and actually asked how she could help," said Ms. Quinn. "The doggie daycare promotion was a wonderful way to raise money for the foundation and generated a lot of exposure within the community. I talked to a mom today whose daughter is thrilled to be doing their horse vacation camp and learned about it through the FLEF promotion"¦The support of local businesses and corporate donors is so appreciated and will enhance the programs we can offer students and teacher in our district."

For more information on Powderly Meadows, visit the website at powderlymeadows.com, or see their page on Facebook. The Freetown — Lakeville Education Foundation can also be seen on Facebook.